Their existence was better than no open-wheel series, but - and depending upon whom you ask - only barely. That 1996 racing season was the first of more than a decade with two open-wheel racing series running simultaneously. 500, both run that Memorial Day weekend Sunday, was born from 'The Spilt' - a product of Tony George’s last-ditch hope to save the prototypical American racecar driver and the oval tracks American open-wheel racing was born on. The dichotomy of the 1996 Indy 500 and U.S. But we had no choice.”ĭrivers who competed at those tracks that day, 25 years ago this week - firmly believe they had no choice but to be where they were. “And I was sad, not only not to be (at IMS), but to have to watch a race up against Indianapolis. “It was worse than that,” he says now, 25 years later. Michigan International Speedway wasn’t even second-best. He chose to spend the anniversary of winning the 1969 Indianapolis 500 away from Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1996, instead going to another race he knew would never live up to the pomp and circumstance of the Memorial Day weekends he’d grown to know and love. So imagine what kind of mess could pull the Andretti family patriarch to a race track, fully knowing the mere sight of it is going to fill him with disgust and despair. Not only does it keep the 81-year-old moving, but it keeps him jumping into two-seater open-wheel cars day after day to give fans the time of their lives at 180 mph. He’s a jokester, a “glass-half-full” kind of guy who sees the goodness in just about everything.

What the legendary racecar driver lacks in size, he makes up for in passion - but almost always positive. INDIANAPOLIS - It takes a lot to rile Mario Andretti. We are republishing it ahead of our coverage of the 2022 Indy 500. Watch Video: Pit Pass Live: Indy 500 starting grid is setĮditor's note: This story was originally published in 2021.

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